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Sewing: Gathered Tulle Skirt

At my church we have two weekends a year where we listen/watch a broadcast of our general church leaders from home, and I love it. Growing up we have a tradition of crafting/making/sewing while we listen. So I made a skirt on Saturday.

I’ve had the idea of this skirt in my head for some time. I was going to make it a gathered skirt with a jersey underneath, but Miriam convinced me that I make it out of a thinner woven material (that she then gave me). I liked her idea. Then I decided to make it with a real waistband with a zipper and everything. I’m so glad I did.

The tulle that I found (thrifted) is really soft with a very drapey hand. I’ve not found anything like this except for a floral netting I came across at Joann a while ago (they don’t have it listed online, but I’ve seen it in stores). Does anyone have a good way to describe this kind of fabric?

The pink color is my absolute favorite. So soft and romantic.

I used the same template as I used in my woven maxi tutorial for the underskirt. I did change the zipper to the back rather than the side. So I measured at the half-point and added a seam allowance and cut the back pieces accordingly. I then gathered about 4x my waist measurement worth of soft tulle (I think this may be classified as a lace more than a tulle?) and attached it to the bottom of the skirt. Then I attached the waistband.

I added extra width in the waistband so I could attach a button (I’m getting much better at sewing button holes!) for the final enclosure. I didn’t have a matching invisible zipper on hand, so I used a regular one. This just so happened to match perfectly.

What a lovely skirt. I made an attempt to make anything like that last summer, but is was really crappy. I use the elastic-band-method and i was too bulky! I still have it somewhere. I should tear it apart and try again.

It looks like illusion netting; you can usually find it with bridal/prom materials, and usually in the spring ;)
And your skirt is perfectly on trend; the last time I was in Brooklyn/NYC I saw a ton of sheers over skirts and tops!

The tulle is probably English tulle, which is has a much softer hand and drape than typical tulle & illusion. I use it all te time in my bridal, love its drape! Silk tulle is often really draped like this too (but crazy expensive!)

Thank you so much! I’ve been trying to make a skirt out of soft tulle for my daughter for prom. I didn’t want to gather the lining and the tulle/mess because I wanted it to lay flat instead of ball gown like. I’m super excited to try this and a sewing craft during conference will be my new tradition. Thanks again!!!!!